IdiomNature
English
Englishout of a clear blue sky
Meaning: Without warning.
Example: “Out of a clear blue sky, my old boss called to offer me a job.”
Origin: The fuller, older form of the now more common "out of the blue" is "a bolt out of the blue" — a bolt of lightning, striking without any warning cloud cover to announce it. The image works on a genuine improbability: lightning from a completely clear sky is rare enough to stand for the truly unforeseeable, since a thunderstorm normally telegraphs itself well in advance. The full phrasing was likely already circulating before its first documented appearance in 1837, and the shortened "out of the blue" is on record by 1879, in an issue of The Spectator.
More English idioms
- take the wind out of someone's sails To deflate someone's confidence or spoil their high expectations.
- too many irons in the fire Too many activities demanding one's time.
- turn over a new leaf To change one's bad ways and begin to lead a better life.
- under a cloud Less than entirely trustworthy; suspected of some wrongdoing.
- under the weather Unwell; ill.
- water under the bridge Past and finished; over and done with.
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